The Traders [6 Point] Checklist -Stock Market Guide

If you are anything like me, you know an organized approach to learning a new skill requires a checklist.

The 6 Point Checklist for Beginners

in order to get started with trading in the stock market, there are a number of decisions you need to make. Below you will find a “Getting Started in the Stock Market Guide” which will outline the potential decisions to make and notes on the positives and negatives of the various options.

This should lay the groundwork for a comprehensive approach to your trading.

Internet-connected or offline trading

Choosing an online broker

Using a stock screener

Charting Tools

Using a portfolio management system

Educate yourself

Watch The Video and Read the Checklist

Stock Market Training 1. Stock Traders Checklist- Part 2

1. Internet Connected Trading or Offline Trading

There are two ways to operate a portfolio.

Offline trading. This means reading newspapers, journals company accounts, and calling a broker by telephone to place orders. This is very much the old style of operation with some severe limitations in terms of :

Cost: placing telephone trades with brokers is expensive(can be more than 3 times more expensive than online trading), and has a time lag (picking up the phone dialing, speaking etc.

Limitation of News: although there are many excellent quality publications (Investor’s Business Daily for example) you would need to archive all the papers to enable any back research required.

Information is not searchable; meaning back research for a particular stock is not easy and is very time consuming.

No real time charting, back testing, or screening.

Internet Connected Trading.

This means you will require

A computer (medium specification)

Internet Connection (ideally Broadband with flat rate)

Internet Service Provider

Although the initial setup costs may be higher, with a few trades this money with easily be paid back.

There are huge benefits to online trading

News from across the world available instantly·

News is fully indexed and searchable

Access to newsgroups, bulletin boards, communities, and blogs.

Free Charting Software

Free Stock Screeners

Free portfolio Management Applications

Free real-time streaming charts and prices*

Free streaming news *

Lower cost per trader (very important)

* normally available through your online broker

The benefits are clear that successful traders today trade online, and learn to utilize the rich array of tools and resources available online. The rest of the checklist assumes you will be trading ONLINE.

2. Choosing an Online Broker.

There is a lot of competition out there today in the online broker space and the commissions and services offered changed regularly. Here we will detail some of the key things to look for.

Stop Losses and Rules to enable you to place alerts and automated actions when you are away from the Office.

Original Market Research and Valuations

Compare the interest rate on the Cash Account.

Customer Service read online reviews of customers.

3. Choosing Charting Tools

Charting tools enable you to view the history of a stock using mathematical visualizations of the Price/volume and various indicators. Choosing the right Charting software for you can be very time consuming, but is well worth the time invested.

The key choice for you is whether to use free Internet stock charting packages or paid for subscription-based software.

Free internet charting – Positives

No Costs

Huge Choice

All indicators Covered

Some connect to portfolio management software

Connect to news and plot news on charts

Free internet charting – Negatives

Few offer real-time streaming charts

Can be slower to use

Lack detailed screen resolution / full screen options

Lack ability to track your notes / thoughts on a chart

Few offer trend lines capabilities

Subscription Based Charting tools – Positives

Real-time Streaming Charts

Ability to plot own indicators*

Built-in screening*

Ability to track chart notes*

Built-in communities*

Flexibility and Usability*

*depends on provider and package

Subscription Based Charting tools – Negatives

Small Portfolios – if you have a small portfolio, circa $1000, the cost of charting packages can represent across a whole year a significant investment

There are many packages that are not established, badly written or do not provide a market advantage.

The liberated Stock Trader recommends a “Subscription based” software package called “Telechart 2000” by Worden Brothers Incorporated, and has many advantages over the Free internet Charting packages. This software however only covers all the US Markets.

4. Using a Stock Screener

Stock screeners enable you to filter all stocks by your requirements, such as Earning Per Share or Profit Margins etc. Finding the right Screener is an essential building block to successful trading.

Checklist Summary

We have covered all the core essentials you need to set yourself up as a Stock Trader. The most important by far is to educate yourself and always think for yourself and be responsible for your own decisions.

Screening or scanning for stocks is one of the most important elements in your investing strategy. Whether you are a day trader or a...

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Liberated Stock Trader est. 2009 is a company committed to honest and unbiased investing education to help you become a liberated, free thinking, independent investor. We develop high quality free & premium stock market training courses & have published multiple books. We also thoroughly test and recommend the best investing research software, books, brokers and have partnerships with companies whose products we love. These partnerships help fund the business.

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